


Young Blood

by glaciya, TaneKore



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Bloodplay, But I've never seen it done in JayTim before ;), Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Lingerie, M/M, Minor Character Death, Not exactly an original plot, Zombies, some violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-17
Updated: 2017-11-17
Packaged: 2019-02-03 16:26:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12751929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glaciya/pseuds/glaciya, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaneKore/pseuds/TaneKore
Summary: “I have a job for you. It’s different than your usual work, but you’re the only one I trust to do it.” He finally says. A less intelligent person would have been flattered at Dick’s words, but Jason knows what Dick really means is that the job is dangerous and Jason is the only one he knows who would be the least likely to die.“What is it?” He asks suspiciously.“I need you to make a delivery to Metropolis.”“You’re aware you have the Travelers to do that for you, right?” Jason asks, sending Dick an incredulous look.“The Travelers have never transported anything this valuable before.”“Okay,” Jason replies slowly. “Well what is it?”“It’s a who actually. His name is Tim.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so excited to finally be posting this! [PLEASE CHECK OUT THIS AMAZING ART BY TANEKORE](http://jaykore.tumblr.com/post/167607063215/young-blood-by-glaciya-please-full-view-the) It's so breathtaking, amazing, awesome, and just everything good in the world :D :D :D Also just a warning, this story is slightly darker that what I usually do, but it's been a lot of fun branching in a different direction ;)
> 
> A quick thank you to Tanekore and Sociallyawkwardfoxwriter for being absolute dolls to work with on this. You two were so supportive and kind while I was writing this, I'm incredibly thankful :D 
> 
> [My Tumblr](http://glaciya.tumblr.com/)  
> [Tanekore’s Tumblr](http://tanekore.tumblr.com/)  
> [Sociallyawkwardfoxwriter’s Tumblr](http://sociallyawkwardfoxwriter.tumblr.com/)
> 
> On to the story! Enjoy :)

The day the world ended was just like any other normal day. There were warnings, hints that something big was about to go down. Something that would change life as the world knew it. But no one listened.

People liked to live in their naive bubbles of safety, denying any hint that the world wouldn’t-couldn’t stay the way society had gotten used to. All signs that things were about to change were ignored so journalists could write yet another article depicting what that celebrity actually meant in their tweets.

Unsurprisingly, when an animal rights activist broke into a laboratory in Gotham where they were using animals as test subjects and set loose all those chemically altered animals onto Gotham’s streets, the public wasn’t made aware because Gotham News wanted to cover a story about how the Falcone heir was spotted shaking hands with Thomas Wayne yesterday evening.

When one unlucky Gotham resident was bitten by a rabid dog and lost his mind while they were giving him stitches, attacking three nurses and a doctor before they could sedate him, Gotham news chose to write about The Handshake That Would Rock Gotham… again.

When Thomas and Martha Wayne decided to take their son to the theatre one chilly night, they didn’t know about the mutant strain of rabies spreading rapidly throughout Gotham’s population.

When a man stumbled into their path, groaning, drooling and stumbling, they thought he was just another drunk and didn’t pay much attention to him.

But when eight year old Bruce Wayne watched his parents mauled by the man and was rescued just in time by the family butler, he knew. Knew he would never come back from this, knew society would never come back from this.

**Forty Years Later**

Jason strolls into the Mayor’s office, package in hand, ignoring all the incredulous looks the other visitors give him as he walks right past the line. All it takes is a raised eyebrow to convince the man next in line to let Jason cut in front of him.

As soon as the door opens, Jason shoves his way in and kicks it shut behind him. Blüdhaven’s mayor, Richard Grayson sits behind the desk, palms pressed against his eyelids.

“What’s the matter, Dickie? Being a leader not really working out for you?” Jason asks. Dick had only stepped up to be the Mayor five years ago but he already seemed like he had aged a decade. Jason still has no idea why Dick chose to leave Metropolis, their very safe capitol, to come to this shithole.

Dick raises his head at the sound of Jason’s voice. He has his mouth open as if he’s going to meet Jason’s sarcasm with his own before he notices the bag Jason is carrying.

“You just took on that bounty this morning.” He exclaims, surprised. He checks in the bag after Jason hands it over, grimacing when he takes in it’s contents. “Did you really have to bring in his head?”

“Hey, you need proof it’s actually the guy on the warrant right? What better proof than bringing the whole head in.” Jason shrugs.

He taps his foot impatiently as Dick unlocks a drawer in his desk to get his reward. He had been tracking his hit down all morning and now just wanted to go home. When Dick finally hands him a small bag, Jason immediately digs through it to make sure everything is there.

The payment for the bounty is ten ration cards, Lian’s medication, and two hundred dollars. Even if he spreads it out, the supplies would only last his group half a week. Either Roy or Kori will have to take another hit before the week is out.

“How’s Lian doing?” Dick asks, sending Jason a look of sympathy that automatically makes his hackles raise.

“She’s a five year old girl with epilepsy, hardly any medication, a dead mom, and a father she knows might not come home every time he leaves. How the hell do you think she is?”

Rather than backing down in the face of Jason’s anger like most people, Dick levels him with a stern glare.

“She’s a girl who is safer and has access to more medication than most because she has a family who loves and provides for her. I’d like to think she’s doing fairly well, considering.” Jason flushes-Dick’s tone making him feel scolded.

“And you know there’s always openings in the guard for any of you three if you’ll just accept my help.” Dick adds.

“Thanks, but no.” Jason declines the offer for probably the hundredth time. “We don’t want to owe any more favors, even to you. Besides, spending my days stuck behind the walls to protect this shitty town and your sorry ass seems like a worse deal than what I’m already doing.” Dick sighs and shakes his head, but is unsurprised by Jason’s answer.

This is around the time that Dick would be dismissing him, but instead he watches Jason, chewing on his bottom lip.

“Spit it out already, Dick. I can hear you thinking.” Jason commands. Nerves cause knots in his stomach. Usually, Dick has no problem talking and his hesitation now is putting Jason on edge. Dick takes a breath, seeming to calm himself before he answers.

“I have a job for you. It’s different than your usual work, but you’re the only one I trust to do it.” He finally says. A less intelligent person would have been flattered at Dick’s words, but Jason knows what Dick really means is that the job is dangerous and Jason is the only one he knows who would be the least likely to die.

“What is it?” He asks suspiciously.

“I need you to make a delivery to Metropolis.”

“You’re aware you have the Travelers to do that for you, right?” Jason asks, sending Dick an incredulous look.

“The Travelers have never transported anything this valuable before.”

“Okay,” Jason replies slowly. “Well what is it?”

“It’s a who actually. His name is Tim.” Dick scratches the back of his head sheepishly.

“You want me to take this Tim guy to Metropolis?” Jason clarifies, scoffing when Dick nods his head, face suspiciously blank. “What's the catch?” Jason demands. Dick maintains his look of innocence for all of three seconds before slumping back in his chair.

“Slade is after him.” He sighs.

“Slade?” Jason blanches. “No fucking way. Ask someone else.” Jason grips his bag of goods and begins to march his way to the door.

“Six thousand dollars!” Dick calls after him desperately. “One hundred ration cards and fifty capsules of Lian’s medication. Half now and half when you get him there.” Jason halts in his tracks, hand clenching around the doorknob angrily.

A payment like that would have them living comfortably for a long time to come. They might even be able to move to one of the nicer apartments around town. And wouldn’t have to worry about food or medicine for sometime… if he made it back alive.

“Just who is this guy anyway. Why is getting him to Metropolis so important?” Jason asks, turning back toward Dick.

“I can’t tell you that.” Dick replies apologetically. Jason shoots him a glare, but Dick doesn’t back down. He continues to stare up at Jason pleadingly-those puppy dog eyes doing their best to make Jason crumble.

“Whatever.” Jason scoffs. “How soon do we need to leave?”

“As soon as you can. Slade will likely already be on his way and he’s only two days west of us.”

“Have him ready at sunrise.”

Jason takes his half of the payment and gets the hell out of there before Dick can ask him any more favors.

****

Roy is at their wood stove cooking, while Kori sits at the table going over equations with Lian when Jason enters their apartment. It’s tiny. A studio with a small space for the living area, a kitchenette, one bathroom, and a balcony where Kori’s garden is located. The only furnishings they have are four sleeping mats lined up against one of the walls, a love seat, a bookshelf, and a set of table and chairs that Kori made them. They don’t live a luxurious life, that’s for sure, but Jason is thankful for what they have. It’s a better deal than most get.

Lian is the first to notice Jason’s arrival, since her seat is facing the door. She abandons the problems Kori has her doing and runs over to Jason, nearly making him drop his package when she tackles him. Luckily, Jason is used to being mauled by the five-year-old and catches her gracefully when she jumps, swinging her over to rest on his hip.

“Hey, kiddo, how’s school been today?” Jason asks her, ruffling her hair.

“Boring. I want to learn with the other kids in an actual classroom.” Three sighs echo through the apartment in response.

“Lili, you know why we can’t do that.” Kori says, walking over to them. “You’d get overstimulated and risk a seizure.”

“It wouldn’t be overstimulating if you guys would let me get used to it.” Lian mumbles into Jason’s shoulder. Lian’s reply is met by tense silence from the adults. The thing is, they all know she’s right, but the chance of her seizures being triggered is much too risky. Just one of them could cause irreversible damage or even death.

“Dinner’s ready.” Roy calls, breaking the awkward silence. Jason’s stomach gives a loud answering growl.

They end up having rabbit stew… again. But rabbit is the cheapest type of meat and as long as they go to bed with full stomachs, they should count themselves lucky.

“So what’d you bring in today?” Roy asks, grimacing around a bite of his stew.

“The bounty gave us enough to last a few more days.” Jason adds-stomach clenching, either around the disgusting stew or the look of defeat that has overcome his friends faces. He still pauses before he speaks again. “Plus three thousand dollars, twenty-five capsules and fifty ration cards… and that’s only half.” He mumbles under his breath.

“What?” Roy hisses in disbelief as Kori’s spoon freezes halfway on its path to her mouth. Lian ignores all three of them, shoveling rabbit stew in her mouth. It’s her favorite, thankfully.

“I got offered a job.” Jason tells them, stirring his stew. Roy lets out a shocked but happy laugh, which Jason understands because even three thousand is the largest amount of cash they’ve ever seen at once, but Kori narrows her eyes at him suspiciously.

“What kind of job?” She asks.

“The escort kind.” Roy’s happy smile disappears as his face morphs into an expression of confusion.

“Escorting who?” He asks.

“All I know is that his name is Tim.” Jason shrugs.

“And where are you supposed to escort him to?” Jason hesitates, because this is the part he has been nervous about telling them.

“Metropolis.” He mumbles his answer into his spoon. The response of his friends is expected. Kori shakes her head in disbelief as Roy hisses out a curse. The commotion earns their attention from Lian.

“That’s the capitol!” She chirps-eager to show off her knowledge. “Isn’t that far away?”

“It didn’t used to be, no. But ever since the bay flooded ten years ago you have to go through a couple of other states just to get there. It’d take a week at least.” Roy answers her, sending Jason an accusing glare.

“Well, what’d you want to me do? Turn down the job?” Jason throws his hands in the air in frustration. “This could be the break we’ve been looking for.”

“Yes, but what about the Rabid and all the gangs out there just waiting for a couple of unsuspecting humans to wonder into their paths?” Kori asks him.

“Kori!” Roy scolds as he reaches over to cover Lian’s ears. Lian ducks out of his hold.

“I already know about the Rabid and the bad men, Daddy. Jay told me forever ago.” She scoffs, not hesitating in the slightest as she tosses Jason under the boss.

“You need me for money, rations cards, and medication.” Jason says quickly before Roy can grab his bow and arrow.

“Speaking of,” Kori cuts in before Roy can reply. “Jason, you have to be really sure that you want to do this. We’re able to make by with the way we’ve been living. There’s no need to take this kind of a risk.”

“Yes, there is.” Jason insists. “We’ve barely been making by and we all know we can’t keep doing this forever. I have to do this.”

He knows by the expressions on his friends’ faces that they know that, too. They just aren’t happy about it.   
  


He leaves while it’s still dark out and his housemates are asleep. He had already packed the night before, trying to bring as little as possible but at the same time making sure he was prepared. He brings enough packages of instant meals to last him a week, an excessive amount of ammo, a change of clothes, a map and some spare cash in his backpack.

He had made the trip a few times in the past if a bounty called for it, but only with either Roy or Kori with him since travelling alone outside of city walls is certain death these days. He knows he wouldn’t be alone this time, but the thought of travelling with a stranger didn’t bring him much comfort.

His weapons are strapped in various places around his body-a pistol and a magnum on his thighs, a rifle on his back, and two long daggers hidden under his sleeves by his wrists. He doesn’t bother hiding the other guns, making sure they rest in plain sight above both his leather jacket and his jeans, hoping to ward off at least some of the threats they might come across.

The Rabid will be too crazed and bloodthirsty to notice or care about Jason’s weaponry, but he makes sure to put on plenty of repellant before he leaves. By the time he’s satisfied, he has the thick red substance smeared vertically on his wrists and horizontally across his neck and eyes. It was designed to neutralize a human’s scent to the Rabid, at least from a distance and as long as you didn’t have any open wounds. Blood tended to make them get a little frantic.

Satisfied that he’s as prepared as he’s going to get, he starts to head out, pausing at the doorway to say a silent goodbye to his makeshift family. He doesn’t kiss them goodbye, but instead sends a mental prayer that he’ll make it back home to them.

He makes his way to the gate entrance on his motorcycle. It’s old, rusted, and incredibly slow since it’s solar powered. He can’t go much faster than twenty miles per hour or the battery will drain faster than it can absorb energy, but it’s quiet and a much better option than walking.

Dick and, who Jason assumes to be, Tim are both already there waiting for him when he gets to the gate. He’s not surprised at how small the other boy seems compared to Dick-there must be a reason he needs an escort after all. Jason can’t make much of his features out because of the black repellant around his eyes and the scarf he has wrapped to cover the bottom half of his face, but he seems young. It makes him wonder again about just who Tim is and why Slade is after him. He wonders if he’s the son of one of the Council members.

The Council is made up of three members, Diana Prince, Clark Kent, and Bruce Wayne. It had been formed within the past decade, in an attempt to bring order back to the States. Jason honestly hasn’t noticed much of a difference, but then again, Blüdhaven had already been well established by the widower Jack Drake, who had used all his wealth to build strong walls around the city and hire plenty of law enforcers to keep things safe. They were one of the few lucky cities.

The kid starts moving forward the moment Jason steps away from his bike, hand reaching out toward him. Jason reacts mainly on instinct, hastily moving back and bringing one hand down to the pistol on his right side. Tim freezes, one hand held out toward Jason as if he’s asking for something and Dick quickly steps forward between them and smacks Tim’s arm down.

“What the fuck are you trying to pull?” Jason snaps, hand still resting on his gun.

“Jason, he didn’t mean anything by it.” Dick says, raising his hands in a placating gesture. Tim glares at Jason from behind Dick’s shoulder and rips the cloth around his face down to his neck.

“I was just trying to introduce myself!” He says.

“By trying to grab me?!”

“No! I was trying to give you a handshake!”

“What the heck is a _ handshake _ ?” By now, they’ve moved close enough for their faces to be inches apart, despite Dick’s best efforts at keeping them separate.

Normally, another person would have backed off, given Jason’s size and the heat behind his glare, but the other boy’s scowl matches Jason’s fire with ice. Tim even lifts himself on his tiptoes to lessen the difference in height between them.

Standing this close, Jason has a clear view of Tim’s features. His pale skin works along with shaggy black hair to give his blue eyes a striking feel to them.The repellant adds to the look with it’s dark tones and the manner in which it was applied.

Jason has never put any finesse to his markings, just wearing it in a thick, straight line, but Tim seems to have taken plenty of care to apply his. The black substance is spread heavily around his eyes but then tapers off into thin streaks down his cheekbones. Jason has a brief fantasy of running a thumb across Tim’s cheeks, just to smudge the stripes. He is pulled out of his thoughts when Tim’s attention turns back to Dick.

“He’s never heard of a handshake before?”

“Most people these days haven’t, Tim.” Dick shrugs sheepishly. His eyes flicker back and forth between the two boys nervously.

“But the books said-”

“I’m sorry, books? Where the hell has this kid been where he’s just had leisure time to read fantasies about handshakes?” Jason interrupts him.

“He hasn’t been able to get out much.” Dick says, as if that explains anything.

“Or at all.” Tim mutters. Jason sighs, rubbing his index and middle fingers against his temples.

“Whatever. Listen, are you ready to go or not? Isn’t Slade on his way here as we speak?”

That, thankfully, seems to get them to move. Dick hands Tim a backpack and what looks to be a short metal rod, which Jason decides not to ask about right away as it’ll probably distract them again.

He looks away quickly when Dick pulls Tim into a tight hug, busying himself with getting situated on his bike and sliding his red helmet over his head. The sight has caused an odd twisting sensation in his gut that he didn’t want to think about.

“Keep him safe, Jay.” Dick tells him as Tim gets on the bike behind him, not hesitating at all to wrap his hands around Jason’s waist for support.

“I won’t get paid otherwise, will I?” Jason replies before revving the engine, driving them past Blüdhaven’s walls. He smirks when he hears Tim’s quiet gasp in his ear as the bike jerks forward.

The first few minutes of their trip go by in blissful silence as Tim seems too intrigued by the sights around them to do anything other than gape and let out little hums when they so much as pass a tree. He has half a mind to tell him to close his mouth or he’ll risk getting a mouth full of bugs, but Tim’s awed expression is an amusing one and Jason finds himself looking into his mirrors every now and then just to get another glimpse of it.

It’s been made pretty obvious that the other boy has never been outside of Blüdhaven’s walls. It’s a pretty uncommon occurrence but not unheard of, especially for the more wealthy citizens. And Jason, who spent the early years of his life living outside the walls, didn’t honestly see what the big deal was. The only things around to see were overgrown wildlife and ruined buildings. They hadn’t even passed any bandits or the RaBid yet.

“Hey Jason?” Tim appears to finally snap out of his trance and Jason sighs, he’s not really in the mood for a conversation right now.

“What?”

“Dick said you’re a bounty hunter, right?”

“Yeah, so?”

“What’s that like?”

“What’s what like?”

“You know,” Tim leans up so he’s talking right next to Jason’s ear and Jason fights the urge to shift away from him. “Catching the bad guys and helping to keep the world safe.” 

Jason’s harsh laughter causes Tim to startle and he finally leans away from Jason, no doubt giving the back of Jason’s head a confused frown. Instead of answering right away, Jason gives their surrounding a quick once over, determining that they’re as safe as can be before pulling off the path.He climbs off his bike and waits until Tim has stood as well, glaring down at the other boy.

“Look, I don’t know what silly ideas Dick has been filling your head with, but everyone in this shitty world is a ‘bad guy’. I don’t catch my bounties, I kill them and I kill them because it’s fun-because I like to.” Jason smirks, fully expecting Tim to get angry with him, but Tim surprises him.

His face goes from surprised to carefully blank, the only sign of his irritation is a spark in his eyes. Tim eventually turns away from him toward the open field beside them and takes a deep breath before responding.

“Dick isn’t a bad guy.” He says quietly, turning back toward Jason to mirror his cruel smirk. “But I’m starting to think that maybe he was wrong about you.” Jason can’t form a response to that, instead he just scoffs and turns his back to Tim, marching his way over to a tree to take a leak.

He panics when he turns around to discover that Tim isn’t standing beside the bike anymore. He looks around wildly for a second, before noticing Tim standing a few yards off the road. He’s  right in front of where the ground starts to slope, looking down into the field beneath him. Jason joins him, curious as to what he’s looking at.

“Oh,” He raises a brow when he notices what it is. “You’ve never seen one before, have you?”

Tim shakes his head, staring down at the Rabid below them with an unreadable expression on his face.

It hasn’t noticed them yet, just set to wander the field aimlessly until it catches wind of it’s next meal or finds a pack to join. They’re gross, hairless creatures made of pale skin and bone. They don’t have very good eyesight because of a strange red film that covers their eyes, but their sense of smell is like a blood-hounds. If either of them had an open wound right now, it’d be making it’s way toward them.

Jason slides his rifle out of its holster on his back and aims down the scope at the creature. He’s about to take the shot when Tim’s voice stops him.

“What are you doing?” He asks, surprised.

“What do you think? I’m going to blow it’s brains out.”

“Why? It’s not even doing anything.” Jason lowers the gun to stare at Tim incredulously.

“Yeah, but it would if it had the chance. If it knew we were here, it’d be making it’s way toward us right now to have a nice little snack on our guts.” Tim grimances.

“I know, I just-” He sighs. “I’ve read research. This woman, Dr. Thompkins, was doing research right after the outbreak happened. She thought there might be some form of humanity left in them, if they were given the right stimulations.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard of her.” Jason scoffs. “Didn’t her boyfriend later take a big bite out of her throat after he turned?” Tim flushes.

“Yes… but you don’t think it could be possible?”

“That their humanity is still in there somewhere, deep down?” Jason looks down at the Rabid below them. “No, I don’t. They’re less than animals now. They’re only instinct is to devour every living thing they come across.”

Tim doesn’t reply, his face has taken on that blank look again, except this time his eyes are dull. Jason glances between his gun and the Rabid, finally sighing and sliding his weapon back in it’s holster. It’d be a waste of a bullet anyway.

“Let’s go.” He says, marching his way back over to his bike. They can’t afford to lose any distance between them and Slade.

“Oh, yeah.” He adds just before he starts to drive again. “Let’s cool it with this chit-chat stuff, okay? I’m doing this to get paid, not to make friends.”

“Whatever.” Tim says and Jason can practically hear him rolling his eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

Later, after they’ve set up camp for the night, Jason finally voices a question that has been in the back of his mind for most of the day.

“What was Dick saying about me?” Tim looks over at him, surprised. Jason supposes it’s because they spent most of the day in silence, like he wanted.

“Thought you didn’t want to chit-chat?” Tim asks after a moment, a mischievous grin on his face. Jason flushes and glares, hoping to bully Tim into answering him, but Tim doesn’t seem concerned in the slightest, maintaining his grin until Jason is the one to look away.

“Fuck you.” Jason says without much feeling behind it. His lips twitch and he has to purse them to keep them from curling up when Tim’s grin breaks into a laugh.

“Aren’t you going to sleep?” Tim asks after a while. He’s lounging on the ground as if it’s the world's most comfortable bed, using his sack as a pillow.

“Nah, one of us has to keep an eye out. I’ll take first shift and wake you in a few hours.”

“Look out for what? I thought the Rabid weren’t active at night. The books I read said the sunlight stimulated-”

“I wasn’t talking about them.” Jason interrupts because he can tell Tim is about to go on a tangent and he just wants him to go to sleep. “Most groups of bandits move at night for that very reason.”

“Oh.” Tim looks around the woods surrounding them curiously. “Do you think they’ll come this way?”

“It’s a possibility.” Jason shrugs. “I’ll be sure to wake you if I hear anything.”

***

_ A woman screams, calling his name frantically. Jason tries to follow the voice, but there’s flames surrounding him and the light blinds him. He squints, barely making out tall lanky shadows, at least half a dozen of them, lumbering toward him through the fire. _

_ One of them is closer to him than the rest. Jason watches, paralyzed and shaking in horror as it moves through the fire without a moment’s hesitation. Once it’s about a foot away from his hiding spot, Jason starts to hear its low rumbling growl over the crackle of the flames. He screams as its scarlet eyes meet his. Each breath he takes stings with the smell of smoke and burning flesh, but he can’t make himself stop shouting after his now silent mother. _

***

Jason jerks, waking up to the smell of something burning. He relaxes when he notices the small bonfire a few feet away from him, steaming squirrel resting neatly on a rock beside it. Tim stands not too far away, looking through the trees where the sun has started to rise.

Jason squints, noticing something odd about Tim’s posture. It takes him a moment to realize what it is because it’s so subtle. Tim’s still and not in a normal, just a regular person standing in place type of way either. He doesn’t even seem to be breathing or blinking from what Jason can tell. It’s a familiar, eerie sight but Jason can’t place where he’s seen it before. It causes the hair on his arms to stand on end.

“Tim?” He asks, voice still groggy from sleep. Tim startles, blinking over at Jason.

“Good morning,” He greets, walking over to Jason as if he wasn’t a statue just a moment before. “You hungry?”

Jason nods, standing up and stretching. His joints pop and crack in complaint from sleeping on the hard ground and Tim raises a brow over at him.

“Careful there, old man. Your age is showing.” Tim teases, handing over Jason’s breakfast. Jason rolls his eyes, too tired and grumpy to give decent banter.

“How’d you catch this?” He asks between bites. Tim pulls the small metal rod off his back.

“With this.” He smirks, twirling it in his hands. He scoffs at Jason’s disbelieving look, steadying the pole and reaching up to press something near one of the ends. 

Jason watches in surprise as it lengthens, stretching out longer than the length of his arm.

“Pretty cool, right?” Tim asks, tossing it between his hands. “It also shoots darts that can knock a grown man out for a whole day. It’ll kill small animals, like that squirrel you’re chowing down on, pretty quick too. So you don’t have to feel bad about hunting them.” Jason shrugs, he’s never really felt that bad when he killed either animals or humans. Survival of the fittest and all that.

“That’s pretty badass.” He says instead of voicing his most recent thoughts. He doesn’t think Tim will take too kindly to hearing them. “Must have cost a fortune.”

“Oh, well,” Tim frowns down at the pole in his lap, seeming almost hesitant to continue speaking. “I actually made it with my dad’s help.”

The silence after Tim’s words is tense, heavier than the comfortable silence they shared yesterday. Jason feels guilty and can’t fathom why. It’s not like he knew it’d lead to a difficult topic for Tim.

“Where’s yours?” Jason asks after clearing his throat.

“My what?” Tim blinks over at him.

“Your food, dummy. I hope you weren’t expecting me to share or anything.” He says, showing Tim his now empty hands.

“No, I-uh... I ate earlier.” Tim looks back down at the pole in his hands to change it back to the smaller state.

“Oh, I see. All the excitement from yesterday make you too famished to even wait for your travel buddy to eat?” Jason teases, starting to gather his things. He hears Tim laugh quietly from behind him.

“Yeah… something like that.”

****

“Can I drive today?” Jason glances over at where Tim is carefully applying his repellant using the bikes mirrors. Jason stares as Tim chews his bottom lip while marking a thin streak down his cheek.

“Jason?”

“What?” Jason asks, noticing the way Tim’s side-eyeing him.

“I asked if I could drive today.”

“Why?” Jason narrows his eyes at Tim’s eager look. Just because he hasn't said no yet doesn't mean he won't.

“Because I want to.” Tim answers simply. “Come on, won't it be nice to just kick back and enjoy the scenery for once?”

“Do I look like the type of person who gives a crap about looking around at some trees and grass?” Jason asks, brows raised. “Have you ever even driven a motorcycle before?”

“Well… no. But I was hoping maybe you could teach me?” Tim tugs on his bangs, looking rightfully sheepish.

“And risk you causing us to crash and leaving us possibly injured and without a working form of transportation? No fucking way.” Jason says as he marches over the bike.

“Crash into what? There's nothing out here to run into.” Tim gestures around them to emphasize his point.

Jason shakes his head. “It's not happening, Tim. Get your things and get on before I make you.”

Tim hesitates, eyeing Jason as if he's trying to see how serious he is. Jason sighs. He knew a fight would be inevitable, he just doesn't play well with others, but he'd hoped they'd make it halfway before things came to violence. Tim speaks again just as Jason is standing back up.

“Please,” He says lowly. “I just… Look, I’ll tell you what Dick said about you if you want something in exchange.” Jason rolls his eyes skyward, cursing his curiosity.

“So, this here is the break and this one is the gas.” Jason stands in front of the bike, grasping Tim’s hands and putting them in place. The bike is off right now, of course, because Jason doesn’t trust Tim not to accidentally run him over. Tim is practically shaking with excitement, shifting impatiently from his seat on the bike.

“Okay, I got it. Can I actually drive now?” He looks up at Jason eagerly. Jason finally relents, stepping around to hop on behind Tim, and refusing to think about why Tim’s hopeful face made him give in so easily.

He feels awkward, being on the back of his own bike. Tim is so much smaller than him, it makes the bike seem unbalanced somehow.

“You better hold on tight,” Tim says cheerfully, looking at Jason from over his shoulder. “I doubt it'll be a smooth ride at first.”

The ride is most definitely not smooth. Tim seems to think that it’s fun to swerve back and forth on the bumpy road and Jason quickly learns to keep a tight grip on Tim’s waist if he doesn’t want to fall off.

The first time Tim swerves unnecessarily, Jason almost falls off the bike, cursing and wrapping his arms all the way around Tim, planning to take him with him if he falls off. Tim laughs so hard he almost crashes and has to pull over.

“What is your deal?”  

“Your face,” Tim giggles. “I can see how scared you looked in the mirror. I’ve just always thought you were stuck in permanent grumpy face.”

“Just shut up and drive,” Jason mumbles, feeling his face heat up.

****

“So… Dick?” 

Tim turns to him, seeming startled when Jason speaks. “What?”

“You said you’d tell me what Dick said if I let you drive today.”

“Oh,” Tim lets out a heavy breath. “Are you sure you want to know?”

“Yes. I need to know if he deserves a broken nose or not.”

“It’s just…” Tim still hesitates, making Jason shift impatiently. “I was worried about being alone with you because, well you’re you, and he told me about your makeshift family and the little girl you help take care of.”

“So?” Jason scoffs. He feels unsettled by the fact that a stranger knows so much about his personal life. In the hands of the wrong person, that information could cause serious trouble.

“It's not really a big deal,” Tim is quick to say. “He just wanted me to know that you weren't a bad person is all.”

“I'm not a bad person?” Jason repeats slowly. “You do realize I kill people for money right?”

“Yeah, but Dick-”

“I don't give a crap what Dick said. Just because I have people who are important to me back home, doesn't mean I care about anyone else. That includes you. And you and Dick are both idiots if you think otherwise.”

Tim gives him an almost disappointed look that increases the unsettling feeling tenfold and he almost continues his tangent before Tim speaks again.

“You wanted to know what Dick said and I told you. And for the record, I  _ don't _ think otherwise.”

*****

Tim is gone when Jason wakes up the next morning. He calls for him as loudly as he dares, walking around the perimeter of their camp, hoping he’s just gone out of sight to take a piss.

He stops when he notices the note by the remains from the campfire. It’s written in the dirt, probably with a stick, two words:  _ Go Back _ . Beside it lays an envelope. It’s large and seems stuffed full. Jason reaches for it, dread pooling in his stomach.

It’s the rest of his payment. Of course Dick was dumb enough to have Tim carry it the whole way. He couldn’t do the normal thing and just pay Jason when he returned.

He sighs, looking around one last time for any clue to where Tim might have gone. Part of him wants to just take the payment and head back, his life certainly would be easier. He really couldn’t be blamed if Tim made the decision to run off on his own, could he?

Any thoughts of leaving Tim vanish when he notices a set of footprints leading in the direction of a nearby settlement. A settlement that Tim likely wouldn’t know was overrun by the Rabid last Winter and the exact opposite of where they want to go. Jason hops on his bike and takes off, desperately hoping that Tim hasn’t made it there yet.

He’s a mile away from the settlement when he notices the first Rabid corpse. He pauses beside it briefly, noticing the neat puncture wound in the center of it’s forehead, no doubt caused by Tim’s staff.

Half a mile later, there are two more corpses. This time there seems to have been more of a scuffle before Tim made the kill. The dirt around the bodies had been kicked up in the struggle and it looked like Tim missed the skull a few times on the second corpse before he finished him off.

“Fucking hell,” Jason scoffs, taking off again.

He rounds a curve so fast he almost tips over his bike, skidding to a stop when he nearly runs over a Rabid. It’s still alive but it can’t walk, both legs limp and crooked behind him as he crawls toward the direction Tim must have gone. Tim’s staff lays not three feet away from it.

“Fuckin’  _ hell _ .” Jason repeats, grabbing the staff and taking off again.

He hears the next group of Rabid before he sees them, the high pitched victorious caws they make that signals the completion of a hunt sends chills down Jason’s spine. He doesn’t slow down to take the next curve, leaping off his bike when he loses control of it.

He lands hard, rolling into a crouch to lessen the impact as his bike slides, stopping when it crashes into a bush. He barely spares it a glance, instead turning his attention to the commotion not twenty feet away from him.

In the center of it all is Tim, squaring off against a Rabid that is at least twice his size, with only a small knife to defend himself. Four more Rabid are quickly closing in on the pair, their red eyes gleaming at the promise of fresh blood.

Jason does note with a swell of illogical pride, a few corpses on the ground of Rabid that Tim must have been able to take out before the big guy came along. All thoughts of pride flee into a panic as Tim stumbles to the ground, knife stuck in the throat of the large Rabid as it follows him to the ground.

He pulls his rifle out of the holster strapped to his back, making quick work of the four Rabid trying to swarm Tim. Their bodies crumple in an oddly satisfying lump after Jason blasts a hole through their heads.

Afterward, he sets his sights on Tim and the Rabid on top of him. Jason spends a few tense seconds trying to get a decent shot on the Rabid without accidentally shooting Tim’s face off.

“Lift him up!” Jason shouts. Tim doesn’t even spare him a glance, too focused on keeping the Rabid’s snapping jaws away from his throat.

“I can’t!” He cries, straining against the body on top of his. The next snap of it’s jaws misses his neck by a fraction of an inch.

“Well you fucking have to, unless you want this guy’s ugly face to be the last thing you see!” Jason keeps his focus on the scope, ready to take the shot whenever the opportunity presents itself. He can see the muscles in Tim’s arms trembling as the seconds pass.

All of a sudden, he hears a low growling sound coming from Tim, surprising him. He didn’t even know the other boy could make his voice go that low. He doesn’t have time to dwell on it before Tim shoves at the Rabid, elbows locking as he lifts the Rabid high in the air, giving Jason the perfect shot. He doesn't even hesitate before taking it.

Jason’s moving before the Rabid has even fallen to the ground beside Tim, going down on his knees and pulling Tim into a sitting position. He cups Tim’s face in his hands, searching his eyes and feeling his skin for any signs of the Fever. A breath that he didn’t know he’d been holding flies past his lips when he notices how clear and focused Tim’s eyes are and his cool skin.

“Did they bite you? Scratch? Bleed into an open wound?” He chatters urgently, running his hands over Tim’s arms and torso.

“I’m fine, Jason-” Tim’s voice catches when Jason’s hands move down to check his thighs. He bats Jason away almost frantically. “They didn’t get me, Jason. I promise.”

Jason stares at him uncertainly for a moment, but Tim maintains eye contact, trying to look calm even though he’s obviously shook up. Jason lets himself relax, leaning back on his heels, closing his eyes, and taking a few deep even breaths. It had been a while since he’s been this close to that many Rabid at once. He’d forgotten how bad they smelled.

When he finally opens his eyes, Tim’s cool blue eyes meet his, the other boy having already been staring at Jason with that infuriating blank expression.

“You don’t  _ eve _ r leave my side again.” He commands.

“I won’t.” Tim’s easy agreement and shaky voice conflict with the expression on his face, but Jason doesn’t have it in him to question it right now.

Tim doesn’t speak again until they are back on the road, his voice carrying over the concerning rattling noises of the bike’s engine.

“You were worried about me.” He says and Jason doesn’t have to use the mirrors to know he’s smiling.

“Was worried Dick would ask for a refund if your dumbass died before you got to Metropolis.” Jason scoffs, feeling the back of his neck heat up.

Tim’s laughter, loud and carefree, tells Jason that Tim isn’t buying it.

***

The bike makes it about half the day before it breaks down completely. The rattling noise getting louder and louder, until the engine finally dies. The sudden stop causes Tim to fall off the bike in a graceless heap. Jason laughs at him and almost falls over as well because of the distraction.

“Did you do that on purpose?” Tim sends him a glare from his spot on the ground. 

“No,” Jason grunts, amusement turning to frustration as he tries and fails to start his bike back up. He tries again, the engine making a hopeful noise for a few seconds, before sputtering its defeat.

“Oh, fuck me!” He snaps, giving the side of the bike a kick for good measure.

“Right here?” Tim’s voice comes out squeaky.

“What? No.” Jason says, flushing once understanding dawns on him. “It's just an expression. Did Dickie keep you locked up in a basement or something?”

“No, my dad did sometimes though.” Jason starts to laugh again, but the look on Tim’s face is serious.

“Okay… We are definitely coming back to that later.” He says, a huge red caution sign blaring in the back of his mind. “Right now, we gotta worry about why Ol’ Red here isn't working.”

“Probably has something to do with the way you wrecked it into the bushes earlier.”

“Excuse you, I did that to save your life. It was awesome and you know it.”

“I was too busy fighting those Rabid to see it.” Tim shrugs. “For all I know, you could have panicked and ran into the bush on accident.”

“Whatever.” Jason rolls his eyes. “We’re gonna have to take this to a shop, unless you want to walk the rest of the way to Metropolis.”

“Is there even one close by?” Tim asks. Jason looks at the road ahead of them, there's a fork in the road right in front of them. They'd go left if they were continuing straight to Metropolis, but if they went right…

“There's one four miles South.” Jason sighs. “But it's not in the friendliest neighborhood.”


	3. Chapter 3

They finally make it to Kane’s shop, sweaty and exhausted from dragging the heavy bike in the intense heat. It's only years of friendship between Jason and Katherine that allows them to cut the line in front of them. The fierce red-headed woman takes a look at the bike instantly.

“Looks like the starter is shot and the alignment on the front tire is off, that's probably what was causing the rattling sound earlier.” She says, inspecting the bike. “And you have a few minor scrapes and dents since the last time we did a check up. You haven't been taking good care of her.” She shoots Jason a stern look.

“Yeah,” Jason agrees, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

“He damaged it saving me,” Tim speaks up from beside him. He's likely trying to make Jason feel better, but it just makes his embarrassment worse.

“Did he really?” Kate doesn't smile, but amusement replaces the stern expression in her eyes. 

“Well, I have the parts, but there are a few customers ahead of you and we’re about to close up for the night. We can have it ready to go by noon tomorrow. How's that sound?”

Jason nods, surprised. He had been worried they'd be stuck here for a week or longer, but he shouldn't underestimate a woman like Katherine Kane.

***

“Where are we?” Tim asks as they exit the shop. He’s looking around at all the gloomy buildings surrounding them, each in varying states of decay. He shifts close to Jason when a group of shady looking people walk past them.

“They call it New Gotham now, because all the old Gotham residents that couldn’t afford to live in Metropolis moved here. It’s kinda… just stay close to me, okay?” Jason doesn’t pull away when Tim slips his hand in his. His hand is cold, probably because of his nervousness.

“I’m hungry.” Tim says, eyeballing a homeless man across the street from them. Jason’s stomach rumbles in response. It hits him that neither of them have eaten since last night before they went to bed.

“There’s a market down the street, let’s see if they have anything halfway decent to eat.” Tim follows Jason when he tugs on him, still watching the homeless man. It makes Jason wonder if he’s ever seen one before. He knows there were quite a few people without homes living in Blüdhaven before Dick became Mayor.

Jason is able to talk one of the venders into selling them half a pound of deer jerky and some goat cheese for half off and is feeling pretty good about himself as they climb onto one of the abandoned building rooftops to eat.

“Why are we all the way up here?” Tim asks, stuffing some of the deer jerky in his mouth. He makes a displeased noise as he chews.

“So none of the street beggars will bug us for food.” Jason takes a bite out of his jerky cautiously after Tim’s reaction. He’s pleasantly surprised to find that it tastes delicious.

“You allergic to deer or somethin’?” He asks around his mouthful.

“No, it’s just… dry.” He says, taking another bite anyway.

“Of course it’s dry, it’s jerky. Quit being so fucking picky, princess.” In retaliation, Tim opens his mouth to show Jason the half-chewed, slobbery food on top of his tongue.

“Disgusting princess.” Jason corrects himself, flicking Tim on the nose. Tim giggles and pushes at his shoulder in response. Tim considers his food for a moment before adding the rest of it to Jason’s pile. Jason shrugs, more than happy to finish his portion. It’s not his problem that Tim’s a picky eater.

They sit in silence while Jason finishes eating, at least until his attention is drawn back to the area in front of Kane’s repair ship by the sound of a horse galloping. He leans forward so he can see better and curses loudly, too loud when he sees who is on top of the horse.

“What is it?” Tim asks nervously. He helps Jason start to pack up their things without being asked, easily catching on to the urgency.

“Slade’s here.”

“What?” Tim breathes, expression escalating from nervous to panicked in half a second. He leans over to get a better look as well but Jason quickly tugs him back.

“Don’t let him see you idiot!” He hisses. “We have to get out of here.”

“But where can we go? Your bike is still in the shop.” Jason thinks frantically, before deciding on a place he had absolutely never wanted to go to again.

The Siren is one of the nicer buildings in town. It’s name was fitting, since it was ran by three of the most dangerous and beautiful women in New Gotham. One of them, a woman with blonde hair in pigtails sits behind the front desk, waiting to greet anyone who enters.

“Hiya! Welcome to the Siren, where all your wildest dreams… Oh, it’s you.” She ends in a much darker tone than she started.

“Harley, it’s been awhile!” Jason greets her with false cheer. “Listen, remember that favor you owed me? I need to cash it in, like right now.”

“Really?” She purrs, sliding around the corner and getting in Jason’s bubble, fiddling with the zipper on his jacket. “And what could be so important for you to cash in a favor from the Sirens?” Out of the corner of his eye, Jason can see Tim frowning down at Harley’s hand, which is now resting on his chest.

“We need to hide from Slade. He’s going around town asking for us and I need you to cover for us when he comes here.” Harley jerks away from him as if she’s been burned.

“You want me to lie to an  _ assassin _ for you?”

“What’s the matter, you scared?” Harley’s eyes flash dangerously before her mouth stretches into a slow grin.

“No.” She has that purr back in her voice. “As a matter of fact, I have the perfect idea.” She’s looking at Tim when she finishes her sentence. He swallows loudly, rightfully nervous.

Harley recruits both Pam and Selina for her plan. They usher the boys into one of the nicer rooms and stand outside in the hallway, whispering and giggling loudly while the boys wait.

“Are we in a hotel?” Tim asks, looking around the bedroom. It’s walls and floors are painted a dark red, making the black bedsheets stand out on the king sized bed.

“It’s a brothel.” Jason says bluntly, laughing at Tim’s shocked face.

“And why would a brothel owe you a favor?” He asks angrily.

“I don’t know. Maybe, because I caught Pam drugging one of my bounty’s instead of having the sex he paid for whenever I came in the room to kill him. And I didn’t tell anyone about the little scam they have going on.”

“Yes, and it would be quite bad for business if our customers found out they weren’t getting what they paid for.” Selina says from the now open bedroom door. Pam comes in behind her, holding up something that is frilly and lacey and-

“I am not wearing that.” Jason growls, not liking where this is going at all.

“Oh, don’t worry.” Pam says slyly. “You aren’t.” Four sets of eyes turn toward Tim. He gulps.

*****

Jason watches, almost sympathetic, but mostly amused as Harley forces a moaning, miserable Tim into the corset. Pam has painted his face with makeup and is now using a brush dipped in some type of oil to style his hair. Selina pokes her head back in, frowning when she sees the lack of progress they’ve made.

“He’s across the street!” She hisses. “We’re gonna be his next stop.”

“Well distract him!” Pam snaps back.

“How?”

“You know, use your  _ ASS _ ets!” Harley chimes in, shimmying her hips. “He’s not that bad to look at… if you’re into the whole grandpa thing.” Selina rolls her eyes and leaves, heading back down to the lobby.

Tim groans again as Harley tightens the last latch on the back of the corset and Jason can’t hold back a chuckle this time. Tim glares over at him, but doesn’t seem to have the breath to reply. Pam, however…

“What are you laughing at? You need to strip too.” She smiles at whatever she sees on Jason’s expression. “Down to your undies, too.”

Jason looks between the girls mischievous smirks to Tim, panting in the corset, suddenly realizing what exactly they have planned for them.

“ _ Fucking hell _ .”

All too soon, he’s standing in just his underwear in front of way too many people. None of them have time to comment before the sound of footsteps draws their attention. Harley and Pam look at each other in panic before shoving both boys toward the bed.

“Make it look real!” Harley whispers, smiling as Pam drags her into the closet to hide.

“Make what look-” Jason doesn’t have time to explain things to Tim, the footsteps are right outside their door. He reaches up, wrapping a hand around the back of Tim’s neck and lies back, tugging Tim on top of him.

Tim squeaks in surprise as Jason manhandles him into straddling Jason’s waist, wrapping his other arm around Tim’s hips. The door opens just as their lips meet, but thankfully Tim is quick to get the picture, moaning and kissing him back enthusiastically after only freezing up for a moment.

Jason’s not sure how long Slade is there to witness them kissing, but he stops caring once Tim drags a hand up his thigh, nails scratching his skin pleasantly during the slide. He responds by slipping his tongue between Tim’s lips and getting a moan out of him. His hands roam down Tim’s torso, a new found appreciation for the smooth feel of the silk on the bodice and the lace on it’s edges.

One hand settles on Tim’s hip, while the other goes back up to his hair, using his grip on Tim to pull him down and roll on top of him in one fluid motion. The sound of hands clapping stops him before he can lean back down to kiss Tim again, making him jerk and turn toward the door.

Harley, Pam, and Selina are all watching them with amused expression on their faces. Reality hits Jason like a brick to the face and he scrambles off the bed so fast, he stumbles and smacks his face against the corner of the bedside table.

He groans, lying on the floor until the laughter surrounding him dies down. He notices Tim doesn’t join in on the girl’s laughter and tries not to dwell on why.

“Is Slade gone?” He asks, staring at the ceiling and trying to will his heart rate to go down.

“Yeah, but you might want to stay here for the night. Feel free to use the shower and any clothes in the dresser. And Jason...” Selina pauses before she shuts the door behind her. “Consider us even after all of this.”

The room is filled with a heavy, awkward silence after Jason and Tim are left alone. Jason doesn’t have it in him to try and fill it, walking over to check out his newly busted lip on the dresser’s mirror instead. It aches but is only a little swollen and barely bleeding. He notices Tim staring at him, or rather at his chest, through the mirror and can’t help staring back at him.

He looks, well, like he belongs in a brothel. His hair is styled to curl gently around his cheeks and jaw. It looks like Pam only put minimal makeup on him, something to make his face unblemished and eyes pop, but Jason is pretty sure the blush on his cheeks is natural.

The corset is gorgeous, black with a red lace trim. It adds a more pronounced curve to his hips but also somehow makes the muscles in his arms and legs stand out. He stares at the black stockings covering Tim’s legs for a long time before getting ahold of himself and turning his attention back to the dresser.  

He doesn’t look up from his search through the clothes when he hears Tim get up from the bed and move toward him. Even though he knows Tim is standing right next to him, he’s still startled when Tim reaches out to touch his arm.

“I didn’t know you had tattoos.”

“What?” Jason asks, not because he didn’t hear him, but because he wasn’t expecting Tim to say that. Tim tugs on his arm, making Jason shift so he can get a better look at them. Jason has always been proud of the markings on his body, but now he feels shy and has the strange urge to cover them up.

It started as a single black rose on his right hip, but over time he kept adding more and more, connecting each rose with a leafy vine. Now the tattoo went all the way up his right side, over the front of his shoulder, and down his arm, stopping in the middle of his forearm.

“They’re beautiful.” Tim breathes, tracing the one next to his bellybutton. Jason represses a shudder, the muscles of his abdomen tightening against his will.

“They each represent a bounty I’ve completed.” Jason’s voice comes out higher than usual and something about it catches Tim’s attention. He glances up to lock eyes with Jason and Jason has all but a second to take in the determined fire behind the other boy's eyes before Tim surges up, smashing their lips together.

This kiss feels different, even more intense than their kiss on the bed. Jason can hear his blood roaring in his ears as it heats up his face. He moves blindly as Tim walks him backward until he collides with a wall.

Tim parts from the kiss with a gentle gasp, moving down to kiss Jason’s neck with the same enthusiasm. Jason keeps making encouraging noises, a deep sound from the back of his throat that he can’t control.

He doesn’t know what to do with his hands and they flutter around helplessly, until they land on Tim’s head. He buries his fingers in soft hair, quickly decided that he likes his hands there very much after Tim makes a pleased noise. He grips Tim’s hair tightly, scratching at his scalp to see if he can get more of those sounds out of Tim.

Tim lets a drawn out groan in response, biting at Jason’s neck. Jason shudders, biting his own lip hard and feeling an instant sting as a result. He had forgotten about his busted lip. Tim pulls back from his neck suddenly and looks up at Jason through his lashes. The fire behind his eyes has increased tenfold.

“You smell good.” Tim’s voice is a deep rumble. Jason’s stomach does a complete three sixty and he laughs, feeling giddy for some reason. Instead of giving an actual response, he leans back down to kiss Tim again.

Tim licks at Jason’s lips, freezing up for a second after his tongue runs over the cut on Jason’s lip. He groans and licks at it again and again before tugging the lip in between his teeth to bite down.

Jason gasps. It stings, but not in a bad way. Especially when it makes Tim react the way it does, the other boy grabbing Jason’s wrist and slamming them to the wall.

This time when Tim pulls away from the kiss, Jason is the one panting, feeling light headed as Tim moves down to bite at his neck, harder this time. Jason feels the warm tingle as blood starts to well up under the patches of skin Tim is giving his attention to.

“Tim,” Jason instantly regrets speaking when Tim stops moving completely. Before Jason’s mind is back online enough to form words, Tim shoves away from him.

He stumbles back until there are a few feet separating them, hair covering most of his face while he looks to the floor. His hands are clenched and trembling.

“Tim-” Tim turns and sprints into the bathroom, leaving Jason alone still trying to catch his breath.

****

Things are awkward between them again in the morning, ruining what could have been a nice day thanks to the free breakfast and showers they got. Both were a rare luxury when traveling on the road. He tries to make conversation with him a few times on the first hour of their drive, but in a strange reversal of their first day, Tim unkindly tells him to shut up.

Jason finally relents with a sigh and turns his full attention to the path he’s driving on. He can’t help but notice how lightly Tim grips his waist now, as if he can hardly stand touching him. He just doesn’t understand what happened. Tim had seemed into it, really into it, even initiated some of the kissing. And now Tim was acting like he hated him. As much as Jason hated to admit it, this was probably one of the few times when talking things out would actually be beneficial. If only Tim would just cooperate.

They drive for another four hours until Jason needs to stop to stretch his legs and empty his bladder. Tim paces around while he waits for Jason to be ready to get back on the road, wringing his hands together. He looks tired and stressed.

“Tim, I just want you to know I’m sorry if I misunderstood yesterday and I…” Jason sighs, hating that he has to say this. “I won’t touch you again. I promise.” Tim finally turns his attention to him then, sad expression surprising Jason.

“Jason, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Tim rubs a hand over his eyes. “There’s something I need to tell-” A gunshot interrupts him, blaring in their ears as a bullet kicks dust inches away from Jason’s foot.

In a single movement, Jason steps in front of Tim and draws a pistol, eyes scanning the area for the threat.

“I wouldn’t get any bright ideas if I were you, kid.” Jason looks up sharply, spotting a man with a sniper kneeling on the roof of an abandoned house several yards away. He’s wearing an orange and black mask that Jason would recognize anywhere.

“Slade.” He glares. He feels Tim, pressed up close behind him, go tense.

“Oh, fuck me.” He whispers into Jason’s ear.

“I’m going to ask you this once. Put down the gun.”

Jason grits his teeth, knowing Slade isn’t one for empty threats. He looks down at himself and sure enough, there’s a red dot shining bright just over his heart. He lowers the gun to the ground and stands back up slowly, both hands raised in the air.

“Now, there’s a good boy.” The condescending tone makes Jason want to hurt him, but he also wants to get both of them out of here alive. So he does nothing.

Not when Slade signals his men to surround them and take their weapons. Not when one of the goons gets way too handsy with him when patting him down. Not when Slade marches right up to him and hits him in the temple with the butt of his gun.

***

He dreams that Lian has stolen his bike and is using it to run back and forth over his head as he lays on the ground. When he wakes up, his head is pounding and he’s lying on something hard and cold. He groans, opening his eyes and staring up at bars before Tim’s face fills his vision.

“Jason!” His face is even paler than before. “Are you alright?”

“Been better,” He grunts, moving to sit up. “Where are we?”

“A cage.” Slade’s voice makes him jump and he looks over to find Slade reclined in a chair, watching them. He isn't wearing his mask anymore, just the eyepatch. “It seems the previous owners of the house we’re staying in were some sort of large dog breeders. Lucky us.”

Jason looks around, sure enough they are surrounded by bars on all sides. They seem to be in a basement of sorts filled with dog kennels. No wonder he feels so sore. He ignores Slade for now, turning toward Tim instead.

“Are you hurt?” He looks over Tim’s form, crouched in the cage that is much too small for both of them. They can't move an inch without bumping into each other. But he seems unharmed, if not shaken up.

“No,” His gaze drops to his lap where his hands are fisted together. “I don't think they're allowed.”

“The orders were very specific,” Slade interrupts loudly. He must not like being ignored. “Ra’s wants the specimen brought to him, unharmed. He doesn't want to do anything to it that might damage his little science experiment he's cooking up.” Jason frowns. Why was Slade referring to Tim as an it?

“Well he's going to have to find a different test dummy!” Tim shouts. “I'm not helping him with his stupid plot to rule the world.”

“So, you choose to be Wayne’s test dummy instead? Either way, it’s going to turn out the same for you, kid. Just make it easy on yourself and cooperate with us. We’ll even let your inadequate bodyguard go.”

“No.” Tim’s voice is sharp, strong. Jason feels like he should be proud of him… if he knew what the fuck they were talking about. “Bruce wants to create a cure and Ra’s wants to create soldiers. I want to better the world, not cause more war.”

Slade stares at him for a moment with an unreadable expression before standing and moving closer to the cage.

“That’s a very noble cause.” He says slowly. “It’s too bad there’s no room for nobility in this world anymore… especially not for someone like you.” Something pained crosses Tim’s face, making Jason’s anger flare up enough that he can’t stay silent anymore.

“Stop acting like you even know what nobility is, old man.” Jason spits. “Tim is clearly the better person here.”

“Is he?” Slade’s lips quirk up in a cruel smirk. “A better _ person _ , that is?”

“Slade…” Tim says, voice low in warning.

“What are you getting at?” Jason asks, frowning over at Tim. He’s looking worse by the minute, his face is taking on a sickly white color, eyes flickering back and forth between Jason and the floor.

“Dick sent you on this pointless job and didn’t even tell you about the risks?”

“He told me about you.”

“But I wasn’t the only threat.” Slade’s smirk widens. “Was I, Tim?” Tim’s silence puts him on edge more than Slade’s words do. But Jason keeps his attention on the assassin in front of them.

“Spit it out, Slade.” Slade’s attention turns back to him, a light in his eye that Jason isn’t so sure he likes. Before he can react, Slade reaches an arm into the cage and grabs Jason’s forearm. He drags Jason as close as the bars allow, his grip sure to leave bruises. Jason grunts as his shoulder slams against the front of the cage. He tries to quench his panic when Slade reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small but sharp dagger.

“Slade, stop!” Tim grabs Jason’s arm, trying and failing to pull him away out of Slade’s grip. “I’ll go with you, just let him go back to Blüdhaven.”

“You’re going with me either way, kid. Unfortunately, I can’t trust this one any further than I can throw him and you’re going to need some energy. We’ve got a long road back to Ra’s.” Jason hisses as Slade drags the knife down his forearm, the cut deep enough that the blood starts flowing instantly. Slade finally lets him go to stand back up and make his way to the stairs leading out of the basement.

“I’d love to see how long it’ll take for you to lose your mind, but I need to have a few words with my men. And look into finding a muzzle for you… can’t risk being bit by a Rabid and all.” Slade gives a little wave before slamming the door, leaving them in darkness.

Jason’s arm is throbbing in time with his heart beat. He presses the wound tight against his stomach, hoping to slow down the bleeding. Tim has been completely silent since Slade left. When Jason looks over at him, he’s pressed up against the cage, as far away from Jason as he can get. His eyes are clenched shut and he doesn’t look like he’s breathing. A nasty chill settles low in Jason’s gut.

“Tim,” His voice sounds loud in the tense silence. “Why did Slade call you a Rabid just now?”

Tim doesn't answer him for a long time, unmoving against cage bars. When he finally speaks, it's through clenched teeth as if it pains him to do so.

“Because sometimes Dick puts his trust in the wrong people. He told a girl, Terra, about me, thinking she could help. Turns out she wasn’t the scientist she claimed to be and ran to Slade with the information. Ra’s knew there had to be someone like me out there and is offering a pretty penny for whoever brings him information. Who knows how much he’ll give Slade for the real deal.”

“So what… you’re like a Rabid with a conscious?” Jason laughs humorlessly. Tim doesn’t react, still keeping his eyes shut tight.

“All I know is that my mom got bit and the stress caused her to go into an early labor. She died and I was born with a human mind and some Rabid… traits.” Tim’s lips twitch then as if he wants to smile. “Dick called them gifts.”

“And neither of you thought it was worth mentioning to me?” Jason seethes.

“We knew you wouldn’t help us if you did.”

“Of course not!” Jason cries. “Why would I risk getting eaten in my sleep by the Rabid laying right next to me?!”

“I’m not a Rabid!” Tim does open his eyes then, turning and shocking Jason silent with red eyes that shine bright against his white face. He does resemble one and could almost be confused  for any other Rabid if not for the hair and the emotion rising thick in his eyes. It’s then that Jason realises not once has he felt scared.

Confused yes, and most certainly angry, but never scared. Even though Slade clearly left them this way to tempt Tim into having him for dinner. Maybe it’s the fact that Tim is so clearly trying to hold back, as unsettling as it is, it gives Jason hope that the situation isn’t completely lost.

“Okay.” Jason relents realizing that Tim is still glaring at him. “So, not a Rabid… but you have some of their ‘gifts’?” Jason’s easy acceptance seems to throw Tim off, putting a confused frown on his face. His scrunched up nose would be kind of cute, if it weren’t sitting between two scarlet eyes.

“I guess. I mean Dick says I’m faster and a little stronger than I should be.”

“Strong enough to break this lock?” Tim looks over at the cage door, considering it for a moment before shaking his head.

“Maybe on a good day,” He sighs. “But I haven’t been able to eat in a couple days so I’m not exactly up to par. Besides, I don’t want to risk getting too close to you and-” Tim swallows, cutting himself off. The blood soaking into Jason’s shirt becomes even more apparent to him. He wonders how strong the smell must be for Tim right now.

“What exactly do you eat?” Jason asks, an idea that he absolutely doesn’t like starting to form in his head.

“Not people.” Tim says quickly and Jason nearly rolls his eyes because he figured. He would have noticed if Tim was killing and eating people on their travels… probably. “Just animals.”

“And do you just eat the meat or blood too?”

“Either I guess.” Tim shrugs, looking confused. “Why?”

“Think you can skip the meat part tonight?” Jason asks, lifting his arm up even though every self preservation instinct in his mind is screaming at him to stop.

“What? No.” Tim shakes his head even as his nostrils flare. “Absolutely not. What if I’m not able to stop?”

“Then I’ll jab my thumb in your eye.” Jason rolls his eyes. “Look Tim, it’s not like I’m happy with this idea, but it’s the only one I can think of right now and thankfully I know you aren’t contagious, since I don’t have the Fever from kissing you yesterday. Drink from me, get your strength up, and get us the fuck out of here. Then we’re gonna have a serious talk about how not cool this was.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.” Tim says. His eyes are still scarlet, which makes it very hard for Jason to take him seriously.

“Then don’t.” He says and shoves his wounded arm right in front of Tim’s mouth.

He talks to Tim while he… drinks, but he keeps his eyes trained on the basement wall in front of him. It’s an aimless, mostly one sided conversation, but he does it partly to distract himself from what’s happening and partly to keep Tim focused on the fact that only some of Jason is on the menu tonight. Tim makes occasional humming noises and Jason feels him smile when he tells the story of how Roy was once mistaken for a male prostitute.

It doesn’t hurt as much as Jason was expecting it to. Other than the sharp sting the first few times Tim licked the wound, he doesn’t really feel anything. Tim’s teeth scrape his skin a few times but as soon as Jason tenses up Tim seems to snap out of it.

He’s just starting to feel impatient when Tim pulls away suddenly, looking up toward the stairs. Jason looks over at him then about to ask what’s wrong, but once he sees Tim’s face he can’t do anything but stare. Tim’s eyes seem to be glowing even brighter now and Jason’s blood stains his lips, the red standing out loudly against his pale skin. Jason’s stomach does a flip, while his heartbeat goes beserk, not nearly as disgusted with the sight as he should be.

“What is it?” He asks when he registers the odd frown on Tim’s face.

“I can hear Slade and his men. They’re talking about how much they’re gonna get paid for bringing me in.”

“Woah.” Jason strains his ears but can’t make out a single sound besides their breathing. Hopefully, the blood enhanced more than his hearing. “How many of them are there?”

“At least ten.” Tim tilts his head as he listens closer. “No, twelve.”

“Too many to go up against by ourselves.” Jason grumbles. “Can you use that hearing to like, echo locate and find us a way out of here?” Tim shoots him a look that means he’s thinking very rude things about that idea.

“Jason, that doesn’t even make sen-” Tim’s face goes concentrated as he goes back to listening.

“See? It wasn’t that terrible of an idea.”

“It is a terrible idea. But there’s a group of Rabid not too far away from here.”

“Uh, so?” Jason frowns. He has no idea what that has to do with anything right now.

“What if I can lure them here to distract Slade and his men?” He says excitedly.

“And how would you do that without Slade’s goonies noticing?”

“I kept noticing a strange smell in the air whenever I was attacked that time I went off on my own.”

“Yeah, it was probably their decaying flesh.” Jason says slowly. He’s starting to wonder if Tim can get high off of blood.

“No.” Tim scoffs like Jason is the one talking crazy. “They release pheromones when they find live prey, in order to call others to the meal.”

Jason slumps against the wall, amazed. He shouldn't really be surprised, after all it explains how their victims become swarmed so easily even though the Rabid’s other senses were dull. He just never knew they were so advanced.

“And you can smell them because you’re part Rabid. Do you think you can release them too?” Jason asks.

“I can try.” Tim says, before closing his eyes in concentration.

Jason waits with baited breath. And waits… and waits.

“Is it working?” Because absolutely nothing is happening. Tim just sits there looking like he's meditating.

“I don't know. Shh.” Tim snaps before getting back to it. Jason glares and raises his middle finger even though he knows Tim can't see it.

Then he hears a bloodcurdling roar followed by screams and gunshots.

“It worked!” Tim exclaims, looking way too giddy with the amount of bloodshed that's going on above them.

“Good, now get me the fuck out of the here. I'm practically Rabid bait with this cut on my arm.”

Everything outside is chaos, Rabid and human alike fighting each other to the death. In the quick glimpse he gets of it all, it's impossible to tell which side is winning. He hears Tim’s choked gasp as they watch a Rabid sink its teeth into one guy's neck. He moves to where he's blocking Tim’s view and grabs his arm, pulling him in the opposite direction.

They make it several feet away before a sharp sting in the back of his thigh makes him look down. He quickly grabs the dart sticking out of his leg and throws it away from him.

He barely manages a slurred, “Tim,” before darkness starts to overcome his vision. Just before consciousness leaves him completely he hears a roar come from Tim and more gunshots.

********

Jason wakes up with a pounding headache, a dry mouth, and a sense of terrible dejavu. Only this time, Tim doesn't come over to him when he groans. He sits up, looking around to find that he's in some sort of a small cave, barely big enough for him to lay horizontally.

Tim stands at the entrance a few feet in front of him, statue still and staring off into the night.

“Tim?” Jason rasps before coughing heavily into his hand.

“There's water in my bag.” Tim doesn't even spare him a glance. Jason looks over to find all their supplies neatly tucked into the corner of the cave. He's relieved to see all of his guns there. It would cost a fortune to replace those.

Jason fumbles through Tim’s bag and takes a long drink out of the bottle. He notices as he goes to put it back in the bag that his arm is bandaged up.

“How long was I out for?” He asks, walking over to Tim.

“It’s been almost twenty-four hours now.” Tim still isn’t looking at him, so Jason follows his gaze to see what’s so damn entertaining out there and-oh.

Their hideout isn’t very far away from the house Slade had been setting up camp. Since it’s dark, Jason can only make out the shadows but he can see various lumps on the ground surrounded by a dark liquid that he assumes is blood. The Rabid are still there, dormant now that there's no stimulus around them, standing as still as Tim is right now.

“Slade?” Jason asks, suddenly remembering why he was unconscious to begin with.

“Dead.” Jason turns to look at Tim then, shocked. His eyes are bloodshot, like he either hasn’t been to sleep or has been crying. Jason guesses it might be a little of both.

“You killed him?”

“Yes,” Tim admits quietly, wrapping his arms around himself.  “With one of his weapons though, not with my…” He swallows down the rest of his sentence and looks back toward the camp.

Jason reaches out to cup his cheek, pulling Tim’s attention back to him. He knows Tim’s vision is better than his and doesn’t want Tim torturing himself by looking at the scene any longer.

“He deserved it.” His voice his fierce, sincere as he meets Tim’s sad gaze. “He wasn’t a good person, Tim. He’s was an assassin! The world is better off without him.”

“Aren’t we bad people, too? You kill all of your bounties and last night I was responsible for the death of twelve people.” Tim’s voice chokes toward the end-he doesn’t look away from Jason, staring at him with an almost desperate expression.

“I am,” Jason says, shrugging like the thought doesn’t hurt. “But you’re not. You’re one of the best people I know, right up there next to Dick.”

“How can you even say that right now? Jason, I killed-”

“Yeah, I know. You killed a group of men that make their money off of killing anyone, not just criminals but innocents, too. No questions asked, as long as the price is right. Men that were going to have me killed and you imprisoned as a science experiment. You did what you had to do to let us escape. It was self-defence.” Tim just sighs and shakes his head.

“I still don’t feel right about it.”

“The fact that you’re feeling remorse right now is even further proof.” Jason says, resisting the urge to shake him. “The world isn’t black and white like in your stories. Sometimes you have to do bad things in order to survive another day, but that doesn’t make you a monster.”

“You don’t think I’m a bad person?”

“No.” Jason says fiercely, staring into his eyes and willing him to believe.

“And you aren’t scared of me? Even after everything that happened last night?” Tim whispers.

“I mean, I am a little, but not because of last night.” Tim seems puzzled for a moment before understanding dawns on him and he smiles.

“You scare me a little too.” He says, leaning up on his toes to kiss Jason.

*****

“Jason?” Tim says from behind him on Jason’s motorcycle the next day, just before they’re about to take off. “I don’t think you’re a bad person either.”


	4. Chapter 4

“Is that a farm, all the way out here?” Tim asks. Jason looks over at it. It’s set down at the bottom of a hill so they can see it pretty clearly from their place on top of the hill.

“Yeah, it’s rare, but some people prefer to live on their own. If they have enough defenses, they can usually keep away most threats. Although, normally the type of people to live all the way out here are… hang on.” Jason pulls over, getting off his bike and inspecting the farm.

He squints, he can see a figure moving about among the livestock behind one of the fences, but he can’t make out any details.

“What is it?” Tim asks, coming to stand beside Jason.

“Give me a second,” Jason pulls out his rifle, aiming down toward the farm and looking through his scope. “I knew it!” He laughs, zooming in on the lime green tattoos the man has on his bicep.

“You knew what?” Tim says, sounding impatient. Jason reaches into his pack and pulls out a wad of papers, flipping through them until he finds the right one.

“Look!” He says excitedly, pointing to the picture on the page.

“Is this.. .a bounty?” Tim asks, grabbing the paper from his hands to inspect it. “Bane wanted, dead or alive, for theft and possible murder. Three hundred dollar reward, provided after giving proof of completion of the bounty. What’s it mean by proof?”

“Well, I usually bring the Mayor their head. It’s always fun to see their looks of disgust when the blood gets on their desk. Yeah, kinda like that.” Jason laughs at the way Tim is looking at him. Unlike the Mayor's Jason has had experience with, Tim somehow makes the look seem cute. Jason blames the way Tim scrunches up his nose at him.

He turns his attention back to Bane, looking through his scope again.

“We’re pretty far away, but I think I can take the shot.” Jason takes a breath, steadying his aim and moving his finger over the trigger. Just before he’s about to finish Bane, the gun is knocked from his hands, falling to the ground beside him.

“What the hell, Tim?” Jason exclaims, turning to the other boy. Tim meets Jason’s angry glare with one of his own.

“You’re not going to kill him!” Tim crosses his arms, looking about a second away from stomping his foot.

“And why the fuck not?”

“The poster says dead or alive. You don’t have to kill him. If you want the bounty, we can just take him to the nearest town.”

“It also says he’s wanted for theft and possible murder, Tim. It’s not like he doesn’t deserve it.”

“I’ve killed before. Do you think I deserve a bullet through the skull?” The hurt way Tim is looking at him sends a wave of nausea through Jason’s stomach.

“No Tim,” Jason says, almost urgently. “That was different.”

“How do you know?” Tim glances back down at the farm. “You don’t know why he stole or killed. You don’t even want to give him a chance to redeem himself. Humans have way too many things killing them off these days. We shouldn't be killing each other for no reason.”

Jason hesitates, looking between Bane’s figure moving on the farm and Tim, watching him with a sad expression. He finally gives in with a curse, sliding his gun back into it’s holster and making his way over to his bike.

“Are you coming or do you want to stay here contemplating humanity’s morality?”

“Wait, you want to leave?” Tim stares at him in disbelief.

“Uh, yeah? You’re were threatening to throw a hissy if I killed him and three hundred bucks certainly isn’t worth the work it’ll take to take him to the nearest town.”

“What if I do it?”

“What?”

“What if I catch him for us? Tie him up and everything. You won’t have to do any work.” Tim sounds almost desperate.

“But why?”

“I don’t know. I just always thought the bounty hunters in the stories I read were really cool, I guess.” Tim shrugs, looking every bit the little nerd that he is.

“So, you want to finish a bounty... for the aesthetic of it all.” Jason confirms, raising a brow. Tim laughs, embarrassed, shoving at Jason’s shoulder.

“Shut up! Just let me be cool like you for once.” Jason scoffs, mostly at himself for internally preening at the stupid praise.

“Tim, you drink blood and control the Rabid. I’m pretty sure that’s the epitome of badassery right there.”

Jason can’t convince him otherwise though and he tries not to show his concern as he watches Tim creep down the hill by himself. It takes a disturbingly long time before there are any signs of movement after Tim sneaks behind Bane into the house. Then movement from one of the windows catches Jason’s eye, something streaks past, too fast for Jason to make out who it could be. Not long after, he hears a loud scream.

He takes off sprinting down the hill, heart racing as he curses himself for letting Tim go in alone. He reaches out for the doorknob, but it opens before he gets to it. The tension leaves his body so fast he feels almost lightheaded when Tim greets him, out of breath but seemingly unharmed.

“I got him!”

“You did? By yourself?”

“C’mon, Jay, do you really have to act so surprised?”

***

They end up strapping Bane’s unconscious form to one of his horses. It’s a mare, seemingly gentle but skittish, especially when Tim gets near her. They end up having to put blinders on her so she won’t keep trying to run away from him.

Bane only wakes up once during their journey to the closest town. When he sees Tim, he yells something through the gag that Jason can’t understand, but it makes Tim laugh. It’s cold, not a pleasant sound. Jason grabs Tim’s staff off his back and shoots a tranq dart into his neck.

Luckily, the town is only an hour away. Jason rides on the horse with Bane hogtied behind him, while Tim drives the bike, making sure to keep out of the mare’s eyesight.

They turn Bane into the Mayor’s office and collect their payment, Jason has to bite his tongue at the raised eyebrow he gets from Cain as she hands over their reward. Jason has stopped by her town with decapitated heads enough times that she knows this isn’t his usual game. Luckily, she’s not much of a talker.

Her bodyguard, however, is more annoying. The blond girl sitting on the edge of Mayor Cain’s desk smirks as she eyes Tim up and down, humming obnoxiously. Tim notices her staring and waves at her awkwardly, causing her smirk to widen. Jason scoffs at all three of them, grabbing Tim by the wrist and dragging him out of the office.

“How far away is Metropolis from here?”

“About six hours, we can make it before dark if we leave now.”

“Oh.” Something in the tone of Tim’s voice makes him look over at him. He’s frowning, looking away from Jason toward his feet. “This town seems really nice.” Now it’s Jason’s turn to frown, not sure where the sudden change of subject comes from. Then he gets it.

He nods, looking around and spotting a building he’s frequented a few times. He glances between it and the envelope of cash in his hand before making a decision.  

“Come on, Timbo. We’re gonna make you a real bounty hunter yet.” Jason grabs Tim’s hand with his, tugging him to the shabby building across the street.

“Jason, where are we?” Tim chatters next to him, looking around nervously. “Why is that guy on the chair? Why is he crying?”

“Dinah, hey!” Jason says, dragging a reluctant Tim with him to the front counter. The blond woman in a positively sick leather jacket turns toward him.

“Jaybird!” She rounds the corner and pulls Jason into a tight hug. “You ready for another rose?”

“Uh, actually,” Jason raises the hand he has that’s connected to Tim’s. “My friend here is gonna get his first. He got good ol’ Bane today.”

“Oh, really?” Dinah smiles. Tim blushes when Dinah gives him a once over, squeezing Jason’s hand tight. “And where do you want your rose?”

Tim hesitates, then separates his hand from Jason’s and pointing to the underside of his left wrist.

“Can I make it red instead of black?” Jason and Dinah both frown at him.

“I mean, I guess.” She shrugs. “Usually bounty hunters make them black though.”

“And they usually kill the bounties. I did it differently, so I’d like a difference rose… if that’s okay.” Tim looks at Jason uncertainly as he finishes. Jason shrugs in response.

“Sounds pretty badass to me.” He says smirking at him.

“Good,” Tim says, before returning his smirk. “Because you’re getting one, too. You helped me, didn’t you?”

***

Jason ends up getting the same red rose on the opposite wrist as Tim’s. His skin tingles where their tattoos brush up against each other when Tim takes his hand as they walk outside.

“So, it’s getting pretty dark out…” Jason drawls looking over at Tim.

“Mhm.” Tim hums, tilting his hand so he can check out their tattoos for the hundredth time.

“It’s probably too dangerous to hit the road right now.”  This makes Tim look up at him in surprise.

“Oh, yeah?” He says, smiling slowly. “What do you propose we do about that?”

“Well, there’s a nice little inn down the street that serves amazing pancakes for breakfast. And we still have about seventy bucks left over from the bounty.”

“That sounds amazing.”

******

Tim’s teeth scrape against his neck. Jason sighs, tilting back to give him more access. He’s lying, pinned by small but strong hands, beneath a man who could very easily kill him, yet he feels completely safe.

He wonders exactly how hard it is for Tim to hold back right now. Is Tim remembering what Jason’s blood tasted like as he sucks a hickey into Jason’s neck? Or is he thinking more about a different primal urge? The one that is causing him to rock his hips heavily against Jason’s thigh. A sudden idea pops into his head and he shudders at the thought of it.

“Drink from me.” He pants, lust overriding rational thought. Tim stills against him, frozen a moment before pulling away from his neck to lean up toward his ear.

“What?” He breathes. Jason closes his eyes, steels himself before responding.

“Drink from me. It made you feel pretty great last time, didn’t it?”

“Last time was a bit of a crisis, Jason.” Tim’s voice doesn’t hold the resolve his words should and it gives Jason courage.

“So? You still enjoyed it and I’m not opposed to a little pain play.” Jason tangles his fingers through Tim’s hair, gripping and tugging to force the other boy to look at him. “I know you want to.” Tim swallows loudly.

“I want to.” He confirms, voice barely a whisper.

“Then go get my pocket knife.” Jason smirks, giving Tim a slap on his butt. Tim scrambles off him to find and dig through Jason’s discarded pants. They had stripped seconds after entering the room, so now Jason can enjoy the view of Tim bent over in just his underwear as he searches for the knife.

Tim comes back to straddle his waist, knife in hand. The nervous excitement that has been curling in Jason’s belly fades slightly as he takes in the hesitation on Tim’s face.

“You’re not gonna hurt me.” Jason says, trailing his hands up Tim’s thighs to rest on his hips. Tim gives him a small smile and leans down to plant a kiss on the corner of his mouth.

“I won’t hurt you.” Tim repeats, pressing the knife up against Jason’s throat and scraping it across his skin.

This time is different from before. Tim takes his time sucking the blood from Jason’s cut, licking the wound to encourage blood flow before placing his mouth over the wound. It stings when Tim starts sucking, sending a fresh wave of want that travels all the way down to his toes. He scrapes his nails down Tim’s back in retaliation, grinning when Tim groans in response.

Tim pulls away sooner this time, lips smacking as they release the skin of Jason’s neck. He stares down at Jason, cheeks flushed.

“Did you have a nice dinner, sweetheart?” Jason asks sarcastically.

“Delicious.” Tim smirks mischievously, before glancing down the length of Jason’s body. “But I think I’m ready for dessert now.”

The walls to Metropolis are larger than anything Jason has ever seen before. They have to be at least thirty feet tall made completely of stone. There’s no way anything or anyone that the citizens inside didn’t want to get in would be able to do so. He wonders how long it took them to get this up. 

He then wonders why he’s hesitating with Tim on the outside of the walls. It took them so long to get here, twice as long as it was supposed to, and now that his job is finally almost finished, he’s stalling. He shakes himself, starting to take the final steps toward the entrance when he feels Tim’s hand slide into his. He turns toward the other boy as Tim starts to tug him closer. He brings his free hand to cup the back of Jason’s head and adds pressure, until Jason leans down to meet him in a kiss. 

He’s expecting something rushed and urgent, like most of their other kisses, but Tim surprises him by keeping the kiss soft and slow. Jason follows his lead, feeling a lump start to form in his throat because he knows this is Tim telling him goodbye. 

They kiss until Jason has to pull back to take a deep breath, having forgotten to breathe through his nose while being too focused on the steady pressure of Tim’s lips against his. He presses his forehead against Tim’s and wraps his arms around him, trying to use the affection to speak the words his throat is too tight to say.

***

He’s watching Tim through a glass window, being poked and prodded by a doctor. He looks so small in the baggy hospital gown. Bruce Wayne stands beside him, although things had been silent between the two of them ever since Tim had followed Dr. Pennyworth in to the examination room.

“What are you going to do with him?”

“He didn’t tell you?” Bruce asks, turning his full attention to Jason.

“He said you were going to try to make a cure out of his DNA or some other fairy tale bullshit like that.” Jason rolls his eyes. Instead of reacting with anger, like Jason was expecting Bruce smiles. It’s small, nothing more than a quirk of his lips really, but it makes him look a decade younger.

“We’re hoping to create a vaccine, not a cure.” Bruce explains. “It’ll help prevent the spread of the disease any further than it already has, but a cure for those already infected is hopeless at this point.” Jason nods. It does make sense. The Rabid are just dead shells anyways, but creating something that could take away the risk of infection from one of them could change everything.

“And what about Tim?” Jason demands. “Will he have to be hurt in the process?”

“No.” Bruce says, sounding surprised. “Besides when we draw DNA samples from him, he’ll live a normal life here. We even have a dorm ready for him with the others.”

“The others?”

“Tim isn’t the only one with their… gifts,” Bruce says carefully. “There are ten of them that we know of, all with Rabid traits but a human conscious. Two of them are Clark’s sons, even.”

“Oh.” Jason breathes, amazed. He can see the image in his mind, clear and bright, of the way Tim’s face will light up when he realizes the he isn’t as alone as he thought.

“There’s going to be a dinner later tonight,” Bruce’s voice pulls him out of his thoughts. “So Tim can meet everyone. We can explain everything in better detail there. You should come, get a nice meal and some sleep before you have to travel again.”

“Sounds good,” Jason lies, turning his attention back to Tim. As if Tim can sense him staring, he turns to the window, lifting one hand up to wave at Jason. Jason waves back, something sour clenching in his gut at the thought of leaving him here.

He makes up a half hearted excuse to Bruce about needing to get something from the pack he left on his motorcycle in order to get the hell out of there. It doesn’t look like Bruce believes him, but he doesn’t say anything and Jason nearly runs in his haste to get away. 

He expects there to be more interruptions on his way to the gate, but everyone seems too preoccupied in getting to wherever they're going to pay him much attention. It's not until he's right in front of the cave entrance that a voice startles him.

“I thought you were invited to dinner.” Jason jumps, instinctively reaching for his pistol. A hand grabs his before he can even touch the handle, squeezing tight enough to make him hold back a wince.

“There’s no need for that.” The woman who has snuck up on him is smiling, despite her death grip on his hand. Jason turns to get a better look at her, immediately recognizing her as the woman who watches over the capital along side of Clark and Bruce.

“Diana.” Jason tugs his hand out of her grasp. “Did you come to see me out?”

“I came to remind you that there’s no rush to leave right away. I know you’ve been on the road a long time.”

“Time my family has been waiting on me to get back.”

“They can’t wait for you to say goodbye to Tim? You two seemed pretty close when you got here.” The understanding in her eyes makes Jason want to punch something. Not her of course, just like a wall or something.

“He’ll understand.” He says curtly. He swings his legs over his bike, but hesitates before just taking off. He’s not sure why he wants to wait for her response. He’s already made his decision.

“Just because he’ll understand, doesn’t mean it won’t hurt him.” She pauses, giving him a considering look before continuing. “Unless you plan on coming back.” Jason turns to her sharply.

“Why would I come back?”

“Because of the job offer Bruce was going to give you tonight. We’re opening a training program for people who want to learn how to fight back against the Rabid and the lawless, but we’re short on teachers. Dick recommended you, Roy, and Kori.”

“Oh, I-” Jason hesitates. “I’ll need to talk to them about it.”

“Of course.” Diana smiles. She reaches up to place a hand on his arm. “Go back to them and think it over amongst yourselves. We have schools here and plenty of medicine for Lian.”

“Why are you pitching me such a hard sale here? I’m just a bounty hunter paying off a favor to Dick. Hell, he’d be a better teacher than I would.” Jason scoffs.

“Bruce offered him a job, too. But he said Blüdhaven needed him. That’s when he told Bruce about you and your family and Bruce trusts Dick more than any of us.” Diana’s gaze turns serious. “Go without saying goodbye if you aren’t able to, but I know what it’s like to lose a love like that. No one should have to go through that, especially if they have a choice.”

****

It only takes him a week to get back to Blüdhaven, cutting down half the time it took him to get Tim to Metropolis. He doesn’t run into any trouble, making him wonder if Tim had been cursed with rotten luck in a past life or something. Even though this trip is much shorter, it still gives him plenty of time to think about Bruce’s offer. 

He initially feels wary about accepting the help, especially from someone as powerful as Bruce. He knows from experience that being in anyone’s debt can screw you over, but he also knows that Dick trusts Bruce and as much as he really doesn’t want to admit it, Dick’s trust in someone means a lot. Plus, he thinks about being able to provide Lian with a somewhat normal lifestyle for a child, of being about to see Tim again, and he can’t find much of a reason not to at least bring it up to Roy and Kori.

He waits two days after he gets home to bring it up. He feels like he needs to decompress and just spend some time with them again before he can even mention uprooting their lives, even if it was for the better. When he does, it’s over their usual rabbit stew dinner after he catches Roy looking forlorn as he stirs his food around the bowl and can’t hold it in anymore. 

It’s not as hard as he expects to convince his family Metropolis will be good for them. Although, he supposes the constant source of safety, food, and Lian’s medical supplies really would make it a hard offer to refuse. 

“I’d like to meet this Tim Drake anyways.” Kori says, giving him knowing look.

And that’s how he finds himself back at Metropolis not even a month after he left Tim there, hesitating as he stands outside Tim’s dorm room door. He looks down the hall at his family and Bruce, all standing there patiently waiting for the reunion. He takes a deep breath, waving away irrational fears that Tim might not have wanted him to come back and finally raises his hand to knock on the door. 

It takes a few seconds for Tim to open the door and when he does, he just stares at Jason in shock instead of greeting him. 

“Umm, hi?” Jason smiles at him sheepishly, feeling relief as Tim smiles back at him, bright and happy. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Be sure to leave kudos and comments if you liked it <33


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